The presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in water and wastewater has recently been reported. According to the updated literature, the stools and masks of the patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were considered as the primary route of coronavirus transmission into water and wastewater. Most coronavirus types which attack human (possible for SARS-CoV-2) are often inactivated rapidly in water (i.e., the survival of human coronavirus 229E in water being 7 day at 23 °C). However, the survival period of coronavirus in water environments strongly depends on temperature, property of water, concentration of suspended solids and organic matter, solution pH, and dose of disinfectant used. The World Health Organization has stated that the current disinfection process of drinking water could effectively inactivate most of the bacterial and viral communities present in water, especially SARS-CoV-2 (more sensitive to disinfectant like free chlorine). A recent study confirmed that SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in inflow wastewater (but not detected in outflow one). Although the existence of SARS-CoV-2 in water influents has been confirmed, an important question is whether it can survive or infect after the disinfection process of drinking water. To date, only one study confirmed that the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in water for people was null based on the absence of cytopathic effect (CPE) in infectivity tests. Therefore, further studies should focus on the survival of SARS-CoV-2 in water and wastewater under different operational conditions (i.e., temperature and water matrix) and whether the transmission from COVID-19-contaminated water to human is an emerging concern. Although paper-based devices have been suggested for detecting the traces of SARS-CoV-2 in water, the protocols and appropriate devices should be developed soon. Wastewater and sewage workers should follow the procedures for safety precaution against SARS-CoV-2 exposure.Utilization of sludge pyrochar (SP) is the terminal step to loop the entire harmless disposal process of sewage sludge with pyrolysis. A new, easily recyclable, and safe adsorbent with well-immobilized heavy metals (HMs) was prepared from SP for ciprofloxacin (CIP) adsorption. The operational conditions for the adsorbent preparation were systematically optimized based on recycling rate and adsorption performance. Additionally, the adsorption conditions, adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and regeneration of adsorbents were further investigated in the present study. The results showed that easily recyclable and safe adsorbents were successfully prepared at 1100 °C under N2 atmospheric conditions (SPA-N-1100) with a maximum CIP adsorption capacity of 10.42 mg/g. SPA-N-1100 exhibited good CIP adsorption performance at an adsorption temperature of 45 °C and pH between 8.0 and 9.0. The adsorbents were regenerated by thermal desorption at 450 °C with a thorough decomposition of CIP. The adsorption mechanism was mainly dominated by its special porous microspheres-accumulation structure and surface species (e.g., FeP and graphite). Moreover, HMs in the adsorbents were well immobilized in SPA-N-1100 by the generation of new metal mineral phases and encapsulation of melting minerals, which had an ultralow potential for ecological risk during application.Unstable atherosclerotic plaque is the main pathological basis of acute coronary syndrome, which is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Therefore, we combined multiple bioinformatics tools to identify key genes related to unstable plaque.
GSE94605 contained 7 plasma sample pools of 175 healthy and 6 sample pools of 150 unstable angina pectoris (UAP) patients, and detected with miRNA array while GSE60993 collected peripheral blood from 7 normal and 9 UAP, and detected with mRNA array. GSE120521 collected carotid plaques from 4 patients and dissected in stable and unstable regions, then detected with RNA-seq. Differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) and genes (DEGs) in UAP were re-analyzed. Gene Ontology (GO)/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network were applied on top 10 up-regulated or down-regulated DEMs targets, and whole DEGs. MiRNAs-mRNAs network was constructed with these DEMs and DEGs, and the expression profile of genes within the network was finally validated in GSE120521.
Totally, 263 up-regulated and 201 down-regulated DEMs were identified in GSE94605, and 78 up-regulated and 29 down-regulated DEGs were identified in GSE60993. Subsequently, a miRNAs-mRNAs network was constructed with 6 up-regulated miRNAs targeted to 12 down-regulated genes, and 4 down-regulated miRNAs targeted to 8 up-regulated genes. Finally, MORF4L2, RAB3IL1 and MMP9 within the network were considered as hub genes in unstable plaque progression after being validated in GSE120521.
These 3 genes may provide new targets for diagnosis and therapy of unstable atherosclerotic plaque.
These 3 genes may provide new targets for diagnosis and therapy of unstable atherosclerotic plaque.PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is one of the most important signaling pathways involved in normal cellular processes. Its aberrant activation modulates autophagy, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, apoptosis, chemoresistance, and metastasis in many human cancers. Emerging evidence demonstrates that some infections as well as epigenetic regulatory mechanisms can control PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. In this review, we focused on the role of this pathway in gastric cancer development, prognosis, and metastasis, with an emphasis on epigenetic alterations including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and post-transcriptional modulations through non-coding RNAs fluctuations as well as H. pylori and Epstein-Barr virus infections. Finally, we reviewed different molecular targets and therapeutic agents in clinical trials as a potential strategy for gastric cancer treatment through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway.Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most aggressive tumors with dismal survival and a high death rate due to chemotherapeutic failure. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) plays a pivotal role in PC response to gemcitabine and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Diltiazem, a calcium channel blocker, is a P-gp inhibitor. In the current study, we investigated the hypothesis that targeting of P-gp by diltiazem can enhance the cytotoxicity of gemcitabine and 5-FU against human pancreatic cancer cells.
The cytotoxic effect of diltiazem, gemcitabine, and 5-FU in single and combined forms against PANC-1 and AsPC-1 cells were assayed by MTT. Flow cytometric analysis was used for the determination of cell cycle, apoptosis, and stemness markers in PC cells. Besides, immunoblotting was used for assessment of Bax, caspase 3, cyclin D1, and P-gp expressions.
Diltiazem co-treatment, either with gemcitabine or 5-FU, synergistically reduced cell viability, induced apoptosis, and caused cell cycle arrest. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/cerdulatinib-prt062070-prt2070.html In addition, diltiazem co-treatment decreased the expressions of stem cell markers CD24 and CD44, increased the expressions of Bax and cleaved caspase 3, enhanced DNA fragmentation, and attenuated cyclin D1 and P-gp expressions as compared to cells treated with either gemcitabine or 5-FU alone.